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Subject:Re: Documenting A Moving Target From:WandaJane Phillips <wandajp -at- ANDYNE -dot- ON -dot- CA> Date:Tue, 20 Feb 1996 17:08:03 -0500
Karen Gwynn/Datatel wrote:
> Problem: I am trying to document a product that is still being developed
> HELP! What do other people do? Do other software companies build in time at the
> end of the development cycle for doc to catch up? Whose responsibility is it to
> notify doc of all these changes as they occur (that's the other thing; I
> happened to find this item, no one told me of the change).Karen, we do a couple of different things to help control this mess.
1) we define an interface freeze date, sometimes feature by feature.
This rarely works.
2) we meet regularly.
3) a third party (QA) verify the document/software
4) we write release notes, copious release notes and then use the
information as a basis for correcting the docs.
but then, sometimes we can't decide whether it *supposed* to work the
way the docs say or the way it does!!
All in all, not a very efficient process. I'd like to try the approach
that Mathematica used (I hear) for a product. They wrote the manual and
gave it to the developers as specs for the product. Such a rush!
--
WandaJane Phillips
Senior Technical Writer -- Pablo
Andyne Computing
Usual disclaimers in effect
